When the Truth Comes Out
by Taylorama
Summary: Ross and Rodgers have a little surprise coming their way! Please R&R! UPDATE: I uploaded the rest of the chapters AND named the story! I'm just hoping the chapters are uploaded in order!
1. Chapter 1

Zack Nichols and Megan Wheeler were getting results from Rodgers about the burnt-to-a-crisp "Joe Gallager" when he noticed things about the blonde doctor. Like when she reached over her counter to grab something, her arm crossed directly over her chest and not over her stomach. And when he noticed a little bump under her scrubs. Well, that and when they both dropped pieces of paper and picked up the wrong one that was a doctor's note for hormones.

As Nichols and Wheeler were both leaving, he whispered "I think our ME is pregnant."  
"Oh really?" a disbelieving Wheeler replied.  
"Yeah. Did you see how she reached over her counter or the little bump under her scrubs? And it doesn't take Einstein to figure this out." He showed her the prescription.  
Now she believed him, "Does she know you have this?"  
"Probably not, but she probably will soon." Suddenly, an idea pops into his head. "Why don't you talk to her?"  
"Why would I do that?"  
"Well, you're pregnant, she's pregnant, female bonding..."  
"Alright, alright, I'll do it!"

Later that day, Wheeler walked in the morgue with the prescription just as Rodgers was packing up for the day.

"Wheeler?" Rodgers was surprised.  
"Uh, hi, Liz. Zack picked this up by mistake. I think it's yours." She handed Liz the prescription.  
"Thanks," a shell-shocked Rodgers replied. "So...you know?"  
Megan nodded, "Does the Captain know?"  
One thing about this conversation that didn't surprise Liz was Megan knowing about her and the captain. "Not yet. But he will. Soon."  
"Well, if you ever need anything, _anything_..."  
"I will. Same to you."  
"Where you headed now?"  
"Home."

(A/N: I know my other stories have been crap in the past, but this one has been getting good reviews on thursay10plus, so I decided to post it. More chapters will come!)


	2. Chapter 2

Liz Rodgers stood outside Danny Ross's door, wondering what his reaction would be to her news. They hadn't exactly been careful. How many women of her age were pregnant, for God's sake? The chances were slim. And he's already a father with his two sons! She wasn't ready to run around after an overly hyper child! By now, she realized that she had been standing at his door for more than five mintes, so it was probably a good idea to knock on the door.

"Liz?" his face clearly showed surprise. "What are you doing here?"  
Before he could lean in and kiss her, she replied, "I have something to tell you."

He invited her in. At this point, he was worried. He thought things were finally going well for them, after the whole Kathy thing.

"What is it?"  
"I'm pregnant."  
He sat down and collected his thoughts. "You sure?"  
"I took the test three times." She paused. "What are we going to do? Let's face it: we aren't exactly in any shape to raise a kid."  
"I know what you mean. I thought I was done with Jeremy and Micah."  
"And I just accepted that I was probably never going to have kids."  
A realization came to him. "We'll get help. Our families will help."  
She nodded. "So you're saying we're going to raise a kid?" The excitement evident in her voice.  
"If you're up to it," he said, though he wanted, needed, her to say yes.  
"Oh, I'm up to it." With that, he leaned in and kissed her with such love and passion that fireworks were dancing in her head.


	3. Chapter 3

By now, it was no secret that Danny and Liz were expecting. Was it his obvious joy? Maybe. How about her obvious glow? Possibly. But the more likely source? Gossip between the detectives. Goren, however, seemed to be having trouble wrapping his head around it.

"So she's really pregnant?"  
"For the last time, yes. I'm surprised you, Oh Observant One, didn't figure it out before Newbie over here did." Eames teased her partner.  
"Well, to be honest, it _was_ pretty obvious to anyone who's seen it before." Nichols threw Goren a life preserver.  
"I just-I didn't think that she _could _be pregnant."  
"It can happen. I heard of a woman who was pregnant at 67!"  
"Wheeler, that is just creepy," Eames expressed what all the detectives were thinking.

Meanwhile, Danny and Liz were sitting on the couch in his apartment talking about the future-both near and far.

"How do you feel about Long Island for Christmas?" Liz asked.  
"Long Island?"  
"I grew up there. It's like home."  
"That sounds good. Maybe we could bring the boys."  
"Of course." She paused. "Can you believe that we're going to have a baby?"  
"I'm still trying to wrap my mind around it. You're going to be a good-"  
She cut him off. "Danny...?" He looked down to see blood seeping through her shirt.


	4. Chapter 4

They rushed to the hospital as fast as they could, but the doctors said there was nothing they could do. They had lost the baby. The detectives even came by, tried to offer comfort, help, food (Lieutenant Van Buren brought a casserole), but they were turned down, both Danny and Liz saying they needed time alone.

Liz always hated the phrase "You lost the baby." How could you 'lose' a baby? It was inside of her the whole time! She wanted to cry, but she couldn't. She wanted to grieve, but she couldn't. All she could do was sit in a sort of numbness with no feeling.

Danny was pretty much avoiding the subject. He was so close to being a father again and now it was gone. He couldn't blame her, with her age and all. But he feels like he can't grieve.

Meanwhile, as per usual, the detectives were sitting in the waiting room talking about the latest develpoment.

"I didn't see that one coming," Nichols stated.  
"You have to admit, it was pretty likely," Goren responded.  
"But we didn't want it to happen, did we?" the pregnant Wheeler asked Goren with a raised eyebrow.  
"Well no, but-"  
"Guys!" Eames stopped them. "Let's use all this energy and put it towards helping Liz and the Captain."  
"They said they wanted to be alone," Nichols reasoned. "Shouldn't we let them be?"  
"When they both wanted to be alone, they didn't say they wanted to be alone _together_." Goren said. "They're apart now."  
"How can you tell?" Wheeler asked.  
"When I tried to talk to the Captain, he said _I_ want to be alone, not we. And he's standing over there. Alone." he pointed to Danny standing by the vending machines with his head in his hands.  
"Right now, they need each other," Eames said.  
Wheeler asked the obvious question. "So what do we do?"


	5. Chapter 5

Five minutes later, Eames, Nichols, and Wheeler ganged up on Goren and made him talk to the Captain. He tried to think of a few ways of convincing the Captain to talk to Rodgers, but there wasn't that much distance between him and the Captain.

"Captain," Goren began, not sure how else to start.  
"Goren," he replied with no feeling in his voice.  
"Listen, I'm sorry-"  
"Save it, Detective. You've already expressed your condolences."  
"No, it's not that." He paused. "You should really talk to Liz."  
"Detective-"  
"Hear me out. You both lost a child today, not just her or you. You both need each other right now. Shutting down doesn't help anyone."  
Surprised by Goren's words, Ross waited a minute before speaking. "What am I supposed to say, Bobby?"  
He thought for a moment. "Tell her that you love her and you'll be there for her. You can get through this. But it has to be together."  
Ross smiled a half smile. "Thanks."  
"No problem, Captain."  
Ross turned to leave, but before he did, he added "Oh, and off duty, it's Danny."

Liz was sitting in her hospital room, staring at the wall infront of her and thinking. About the life she was going to have with her child. She and Danny, she reminded herself. It was easy to think that she was the only one suffering, but the truth was Danny was suffering as well. Then, almost like it was on cue, he walked in.

"We need to talk," he began.  
"Danny-"  
"We have to realize and understand that we both lost a child today. Our child."  
Absently, she noticed the car alarms outside the hospital, almost like a sign. "I can't-I feel like I can't-talk about what happened."  
"Elizabeth, we need each other now. To grieve."  
Hearing her full name (or the way he said it-she didn't know) opened the flood of tears that poured over her cheeks. Realizing that he needed to grieve too, he took her in his arms and cried with her.


	6. Chapter 6

A lot had happened in the three months to follow. Wheeler had her baby (a girl), Nichols was starting to rebuild the relationship between his father, while Ross and Rodgers were rebuilding their own relationship. One particular conversation reaffirms this fact one Sunday afternoon.

"I think I'm ready," Danny blurted out in the middle of lunch.  
"Ready?" The revelation startled Liz and she didn't know what he was talking about at first.  
"To be...intimate with you again," he said more delicately.  
"Oh," Liz put her fork down. "That."  
"Look, I know you may not be ready, but when you are, I just want you to know that I'm ready."  
She smiled, appreciating the gesture. "Thank you. Trust me, when I'm ready, you'll be the first to know."  
"I better be," he replied as he leaned in for a kiss.

A few months later, on what may have been the six month anniversary of the miscarriage, Liz had a little news of her own to share.

"I'm ready," she stated after taking a deep breath.  
It was his turn to be surprised. "You are?"  
"Yes," she reaffirmed. "I've spent a lot of time thinking about this, and I think I'm ready."  
"I just don't want you to feel like you're rushing in to anything," Danny reassured her.  
"Danny, it's been six months. I really don't feel like I'm rushing into anything."  
"All right," Danny nodded. He paused. "So, I guess we're both ready."  
"Yeah," Liz agreed.  
"If we're both ready-"

He was cut off with a kiss from Liz that deepened and eventually turned into something more. Something so sweet and pure and full of love, it was like they finally blocked the alarms in their heads that told them to stop.


	7. Chapter 7

After that wonderful night, things had started to get back to normal with Danny and Liz. While they never truly forgot everything they had been through, it was slowly becoming easier to bear with. That is, until one day a few months later.

"I'm late," she told him during dinner in his office.

"For what?" he asked, his mind clearly somewhere else.

"You know…." Liz drew out.

That got his attention. "OH. Do you know for sure?"

"Well, no. I wanted to tell you first." She paused and looked away. "It's probably nothing."

"Hey." He grabbed her hand. "It can be something. Let's take a test just to be sure."

"Here? Now?"

"No, of course not. Tonight."

When she got off work, Liz made a stop at a drugstore to buy a pregnancy test before she headed home and waited for Danny. When he arrived, barely a second went by before she headed to the bathroom.

"Can I come in?" he asked outside the door.

"What? Oh, sure," she replied, lost in her thoughts.

"So what does the box say?"

"Wait five to seven minutes and two lines means pregnant and one line means not pregnant," Liz read from the box.

"We shouldn't get our hopes up, you know?"

"I know. But it would be nice to have a child."

He held her hand in support until the longest seven minutes of their lives past. "What does it say?"

"Two lines."

(A/N: This is the most recent chapter that I put on LJ, so it'll take some time to post the next chapter! Stay patient and REVIEW OR NO NEW CHAPTER!)


	8. Chapter 8

"Two lines?" Danny grabbed the stick and took a closer look. Sure enough, there were two lines staring back at him in a mocking fashion.

"That means….." Liz could barely even finish her sentence.

"Oh God," he sat down on the edge of the bathtub next to her.

"Danny, I just don't think I can do this again," she told him, "What if something goes wrong?" Tears formed and fell down her cheeks almost of their own will.

He put his arm around her. "We just need to have a little….faith."

"Gee, I never thought you would say that," Liz teased him.

"We're going to do this," he reaffirmed. "Together."

In the next few weeks, suspicion grew among the MCS detectives (and a former detective assisting on a case) about the second time expecting couple.

"You notice something about Ross and Rodgers?" Ed Green asked.

"You do too?" Wheeler asked, surprised. "And here I thought I was the only one."

"Personally, I think she's pregnant again," Eames suggested.

"Again? Haven't those two heard of birth control?" Goren exclaimed. When he was met with silence and odd looks, he replied, "What? It had to be said!"

"If this is what they want to do, then we should let them do it," Nichols conceded, "No pun intended."

"We should do something for them," Green said.

"Like what?" Wheeler replied.

"I don't know….help them out, be there for them, that sort of thing."

"They'll probably need all the support they can get," Eames added.

"And we have a lot of support to give," Goren continued the thought.

"So let's do all that we can for them." Nichols finished to a round of nods from the group.

(A/N: So whaddaya think?)


	9. Chapter 9

The next few months of the pregnancy went surprisingly well. The doctor's appointments, even her mood swings weren't at all bad. But it still made Rodgers worry. What if things were going TOO well? There was still a dark cloud hanging over both their heads, despite the support they were getting from the detectives.

It was a nightmare, however, that made Rodgers re think her priorities.

"What? Is everything alright?" Danny asked when Liz woke up in a cold sweat.

"Uh, yeah," she answered, running a hand through her hair. "I just had this weird dream."

"What was it?" he asked, concerned.

"It wasn't very long, but you were shot and Eames called me and told me that you had-had…died."

"Oh God," he took her face in his hands. "Listen, I will be fine. I won't leave you."

She let out a humorless laugh. "How can you be so sure?"

He thought about it for a moment. "Because you'll always have a part of me." He laid a hand on her stomach.

The next day went like any other normal day. She performed autopsies, he did whatever captains do. That is, until he, always so hands-on, was at the scene of what was supposed to be a somewhat harmless drug bust.

Rodgers was just packing up to go home when she saw Eames in the doorway with a somber look on her face, like she didn't want to share the news she had.

"Eames," Liz greeted, surprised. Alex took her to her office, where they both sat across from each other.

Alex sighed. "It's about the Captain.

(A/N: I think I outdid myself on the chapter! Sorry for the long wait, but do you think it was worth it? Let me know!)


	10. Chapter 10

Shot. He was shot. How many people got shot on drug busts, Liz asked herself. That was a stupid question. Was it only last night that he told her he would never leave her? And here she is, sitting at his hospital bed while he was in a coma. The doctors told her he was bleeding internally and there was a 50/50 chance he would wake up. Liz couldn't begin to consider a life with his child without him.

Outside, the detectives were talking.

"How's she doing?" Goren asked Eames.

"Hard to say. She's just sitting there with him. She's been almost numb."

"How far along is she?" Wheeler asked.

"Seven months. Why?" Nichols answered.

"Because with all this stress, I wouldn't be surprised if something were to happen…."

"Let's not think like that," Green said quickly.

"It's your turn to talk to her," Goren said to Nichols.

"Why me?"

"I talked to Ross already and she may like some company."

Nichols turned to Green. "You've known her longer!"

"I hate to say it, but he does have a point." Eames reasoned.

"Alright, I'll go in."

"Hey," Ed said as he sat in a chair beside Liz.

She gave him a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Hi."

"How are you holding up?"

"Okay, I guess. I've been thinking…"

He knew where she was going with this. "Don't think like that. It'll be different."

"Will it? Losing Lennie…was one of the hardest things I had to go through. I don't think I could do it again, Ed."

"He's a strong man, Liz. He'll pull through this. Don't-what's wrong?" He noticed the look on her face.

She looked down to a pool of water on her chair. "My water just broke."

(A/N: So how's THAT for excitement!)


	11. Chapter 11

Rodgers was rushed from Ross's hospital room to one in the maternity ward faster than you can say, well, anything you want. Green was her makeshift labour partner until she bruised his hand bone from squeezing it too hard. By then, Nichols had filled in, saying that it was "his turn now".

"Alright, let's see how you're doing," Dr. Maitland stepped in her room. "You've dilated 3 centimetres. Looks like we have some waiting to do."

"Oh God, ow OW!" Liz screamed as she clutched Zack's hand. "I have to tell you, you're probably one of the last people I thought I would be doing this with."

"I've had practice," he replied. "I have a daughter."

"I didn't know that," she said, taken aback. "How come you never mention her?"

"We're sort of…estranged."

Goren and Eames took it upon themselves to sit with the Captain while Rodgers was in labour.

"I can honestly say that this is not what I expected to be doing today," Eames said as a way to break the ice.

"I've just been thinking about how alone she must feel."

"Alone? She has Nichols with her."

"Come on, Eames. You and I both know no matter who she has with her, she will feel alone unless the Captain was with her."

"Since when did you start thinking about them?"

"Since I saw both of them as people. Just as people."

Several hours later…..

"How are you doing?" Dr. Maitland came back. "My God."

"Is it bad?" Liz asked, worried.

"No, unless you count being fully dilated and ready to give birth a bad thing."

"Please tell me he's awake?" Liz asked Zack with fear in her voice.

"No, I'm sorry. But I'm not going anywhere."

Back in Ross's room.....

"I just got a call from Nichols" Goren told Eames. "She just went in the delivery room."

"Crap. What are-"

A groggy voice came from behind them. "Where's Liz? What happened?"

(A/N: Never a dull moment with me at the computer!)


	12. Chapter 12

Goren and Eames were shocked into silence. They didn't expect him to wake up so soon.

"Good to see you awake, sir," Eames said, not sure what else to say.

Ross ignored it. "What happened?"

"You were attacked at a drug bust. There was massive internal bleeding and you've been in a coma for close to twenty four hours," Eames replied. To Goren, she muttered under her breath "You can jump in anytime here, Bobby."

Ross still had one more question. "Where's Liz?"

The other two looked at each other and then the floor.

He knew something was wrong. "What's wrong? Is she okay?"

Goren chose that moment to jump in. "She's in labour. Actually, she just went into the delivery room."

Meanwhile, Nichols was with Rodgers in the delivery room and realizing why Green had his hand bones bruised.

"Okay, you need to start pushing, Liz" Dr. Maitland told her through her screams.

"Argh!" Liz grunted.

"Harder!"

"Oh….. you have……. GOT to be…… KIDDING me!" she said in between pushes.

"I can't see anything. You're gonna have to push even harder."

Liz screamed as she pushed holding Zach's hand tighter than before.

"Still nothing. Listen to me, you have to push as hard as you can here."

"I can't! I need Danny!"

"Hey," Zach said. "You can do this."

"Zach-"

"Just picture his face when he sees his child! Can you see it? He's gonna be thrilled!"

Liz thought about it. "Okay."

Back in Ross' room, Eames, Goren and Ross were trying to convince the doctor to let Ross be with Rodgers in the delivery room.

"Come on! His KID is being born right now!" Eames yelled at Dr. Reid.

"He just woke up from a coma," Dr. Reid reasoned. "He doesn't have the energy to be in a place like that."

"I feel fine!" Ross argued from his bed.

"We're not asking for him to walk there! He can go in a wheelchair," Goren added.

"I'm sorry, I can't let him go." And with that, he left the group in the hospital room.

"Let's just go," Goren suggested.

"Go?" Eames questioned.

"Yes! Captain, you have a right to be a part of the process here at least! Who is really going to stop us?"

"At this point, I don't care. Let's go," Ross said.

"Push!"

This time, her face was almost red.

"That was great! I can see the crown! Just one big push!"

She hesitated and looked at Zach, who gave her a reassuring smile. "You're almost there."

"Shit!" Goren muttered as he spotted an orderly with an odd look on his face.

"They're starting to suspect us," Eames added.

"Well, you're wheeling me faster than the speed of light and shoved a sweater on me and I look like a thug!" Ross answered.

"Okay, so the sweater thing may have been unnecessary," Goren reasoned.

"There's the maternity ward!" Eames pointed to the sign.

"One big push!"

Liz's face was almost purple with sweat and tears drenched her cheeks. Suddenly, she could hear a baby crying.

"There she is," Dr. Maitland cooed.

"A she? It's a girl?" Zach asked.

"Yes," Dr. Maitland answered. "A beautiful baby girl."

"Oh my God," Liz said as tears poured down her cheeks.

Zach noticed them. "Are you alright?"

She looked at him with what was supposed to be a withering look. "You mean besides the fact I just had a baby?"

"Yes."

"I just wish Danny was here too."

"Do we have a name?" Dr. Maitland interrupted the conversation.

"Uh, no, not yet," Liz answered.

"Okay then. We'll just call her Baby Girl Rodgers."

"Actually, it's Baby Girl Ross-Rodgers," Liz corrected with a smile as Dr. Maitland placed the baby in her arms.

As soon as they were able to find Rodgers' room, they learned that she had just given birth a few minutes before they got there.

"Crap!" Eames said, frustrated.

"All we can do is wait here, I guess," Goren replied.

"Thanks, you two. For trying," Ross said.

"Look over there," Eames was looking at the door.

Liz was (much to her dismay) being wheeled in to the room followed by their baby girl. Just when Zach thought she had no more tears left, a fresh batch formed in her eyes as the three detectives silently crept out of the room.

Three days later…..

Nichols and Green used whatever clout they had with the hospital (and it wasn't very much) to get Ross and Rodgers a room together with their baby while the others spent as much of their (off-duty) time with them.

"I've been thinking," Danny began as he was holding his daughter one morning, "We should name her."

"I was thinking the same thing." She pulled out a baby name book out (a gift from Megan). "How about Nicole?"

"Too English. Madison?"

"Too stuck up."

"How can a name be too stuck up?"

"To me, an airhead heiress just comes to mind. Taylor?"

"That's a good one. How about for a middle name?"

"Okay."

"Emily?"

"Too New-Agey."

"How is Emily too New Agey?"

"Because my sister Emily is into all that New Agey stuff. Katherine?"

Danny was silent.

"What?"

"Katherine Taylor."

Liz looked at the baby closely. "She does look like a Katherine Taylor."

"Katherine Taylor Ross-Rodgers."

(A/N: So that's it, folks! It's been a blast writing this, but I can honestly say I feel FREE!)


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